Adrian Martinez believes her brother made his exit from this world in the same fashion that he lived his life: giving to others.

Edwin Adam was a 40-year-old Turlock resident enjoying life with his family, friends and co-workers at Magic Cuts, when on Sept. 13 he suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and was hospitalized at Emanuel Medical Center. For the next few days all those who loved him prayed for a miracle recovery, but as it turned out Adam was going to be the miracle for others.

Adam’s family had to make the heart-wrenching decision to remove him from life support and as his final act of generosity he donated his organs to people across the country, including a kidney transplant to his own cousin.

“You only had to meet Edwin one time and you would never forget him,” Martinez said. “He had such a caring and giving personality, almost to the extreme. I have met so many people in the last week that have been helped by Edwin in some way. Being an organ donor was something he had talked about before and really wanted to do.”

As soon as the decision to donate his organs was made, Martinez knew that her brother would want to help his cousin Sebastian Benjamin, a 35-year-old Sacramento area resident who was suffering from kidney failure and awaiting a transplant while getting dialysis three days a week.

The family could make a direct donation, but first doctors had to ensure that Adam’s kidney would be a match for his cousin.

“As it turned out Edwin’s blood type was O-positive, which made him a universal donor,” Martinez said. “That seemed so appropriate for him.”

The kidney transplant went off without any problems for Benjamin and he is now home recovering, and told Martinez that “the kidney is kicking a##.”

The funeral service for Adam was a true testament to his life with a steady stream of mourners coming to pay their respects to their friend.

“It was really great to see all those people and know that he had touched their lives,” Martinez said. “And we want to say a special thank you to Abraham, Juliet, Jennifer, and Genave Daniel for their generosity towards his funeral.”

Though Martinez still profoundly misses her brother, she is quite sure he would be pleased with how it all came to an end.

“I think he is elated up there right now and thanking God for allowing him to give this final gift,” Martinez said. “He was an angel on earth.”